The Network Construct: Foundations for Developing Ecological Engineering Science
David K. Gattie, Timothy L. Foutz, and E. William Tollner, Faculty of Engineering, University of Georgia
Systems and Engineering Ecology Program
Abstract
Engineering Sciences
Systems and Engineering Ecology
Ecological engineering is an emerging field of study that lacks
mature, unique engineering sciences that typify traditional
engineering disciplines developed from engineering physics,
engineering chemistry, engineering biology, and engineering
mathematics. An academic program in Systems and Engineering
Ecology at the University of Georgia has been initiated that follows
the model of established engineering disciplines and draws
significantly from general systems science, systems ecology,
engineering and the mathematics of network theory to 1) build
insight into the behavior and properties of ecosystems as holistic
units, 2) develop invariant properties of ecosystems as networks,
and 3) establish science-based design processes for the practice of
ecological engineering.
Theoretical concepts are often proposed in physics, chemistry and
biology, with some having withstood scientific scrutiny and
accepted as basic, universal principles. The application of these
principles in the design of engineered systems motivates the
development of engineering sciences where invariant principles are
critical for ensuring the safety and welfare of society. The atomic,
molecular, cellular, and macroscopic properties of energy and
matter, the basis for these principles, have been the focus of the
dominant Newtonian paradigm that has served society well,
particularly through the engineering discipline. These units of
study are also tractable by nature and therefore can be empirically
analyzed.
The program of study at UGA has been entitled “Systems and
Engineering Ecology”, and defined as, “development, synthesis
and insight-building of theory and principles from the fields of
General Systems Science, Systems Ecology, and Engineering, as
they apply to making complex, holistic ecosystems, tractable study
units of nature”. General academic objectives are to:
Subject
Engineering Physics
School
University of
California-Berkeley
The Ohio State
University
University of Florida
University of
Maryland
Toyohashi
University of
Technology
University of
Washington
University of
Arkansas
Hochschule
Magdeburg-Stendal
(FH), University of
Applied Sciences
Type of Program and Academic Home
Master’s in Ecological Engineering
- Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Graduate Study Options in Four Participating Depts.
- Dept. of Food, Biological & Agricultural Engineering,
- Dept. Civil & Environmental Engineering and Geodetic
Science,
- School of Natural Resources,
- Environmental Science Graduate Program)
Focus
 Water Quality
 Hydrology/Fluid Mechanics






Engineering
Chemistry
Engineering Biology
Engineering
Mathematics
Systems and
Engineering Ecology
 Thermodynamics
 Electromagnetism
 Electrostatic
energy/forces
 Power dissipation
 Electric flux
 Magnetic energy
 Force
 Momentum
 Gravitation
 Light






Chemical reactions
Bonding
Mass transfer
Kinetics
Catalysis
Molecular forces
Multiphase flow
Absorption/adsorption
Solubility
Diffusion
Mixing
Equilibrium
 Cellular
structure/function
 Metabolism
 Neuroscience
 Biotechnology
 Bioseparation
 Biomechanics
 Calculus
 Vector calculus
 Partial/ordinary
differential equations
 Complex variables
 Numerical methods
 Laplace/Fourier
transforms
Graduate Focus Area of Study
- Dept. of Biological Resources Engineering
 Natural treatment systems
 Wetlands
 Hydrology
Undergraduate
- Faculty of Engineering
Master’s
- Graduate School
 Bioscience/Biotechnology
 Applied Eco-technology
 Eco-environmental Systems
Figure 1. Heuristic of general components of ecological engineering
as a discipline. Novel ecological engineering sciences, undergraduate
degree programs and science-based design currently have not been
established. Focus of University of Georgia curriculum is on maturing
the engineering sciences component by synthesizing basic principles
of systems science, systems ecology, and engineering with the
appropriate descriptive mathematics at the graduate level.
Ecological Engineering
Sciences
Research
Design Standards
Systems and
Engineering Ecology
Synthesis of Basic
Sciences
 Forest resource management
Graduate focus area of research
- Dept. of Biological & Agricultural Engineering
 Hydrology
 Watershed Management /Modeling
Master of Engineering with Area in Ecological Engineering
- Dept. of Water Management
 Ecological Technologies
 Hydraulic engineering
 Environmental
law
and
management
synthesize fundamental concepts from general systems
science, systems ecology and engineering into novel bodies
of knowledge, as opposed to offering individual courses from
each field
3)
emphasize understanding and development of theory and
basic principles rather than application of proposed principles
4)
focus on building insight into invariant network properties of
ecosystem, the basic design unit of ecological engineering
5)
integrate formal engineering design theory and principles with
invariant properties of ecosystems to develop ecological
engineering design processes, and
6)
graduate students with a deep knowledge base in systems and
engineering ecology
Proposed Curriculum
Seven hypotheses of ecosystem properties will serve as proposed
network properties around which UGA’s academic program will
initially build. These represent the essence of ecosystem structure
and function within the network construct and can be a springboard
for exploring various ecosystem theories that have been developed
over the past four decades. Nine upper graduate-level courses will
be offered. The general goal is to leverage the perspective of
general systems thinking with the mathematical strength of network
analysis and the insight-building capacity of modeling to explore
the properties of ecosystems as complex network structures.
Academic Objective
Course
Course Description
Establish systems
thinking as the
foundational construct
General Systems
Principles and
Theory
General principles of complex, adaptive systems
including concepts from cybernetics, networks and
information theory.
Develop concepts of
natural history and
engineering principles
within the systems
construct
Natural History
Principles of
Engineered
Systems
Control Theory
Chemistry
Mathematics
resource
References
B.C. Patten, Systems approach to the concept of environment, Ohio J. Sci., 78, pp. 206-222(1978)
B.D. Fath and B.C. Patten, Review of the foundations of network environ analysis, Ecosystems, 2, pp. 167-179
(1999)
M. Higashi and B.C. Patten, Dominance of indirect causality in ecosystems, Am. Nat. 133, pp. 288-302 (1989)
S.E. Jorgensen, B.C. Patten and M. Straskraba, Ecosystems emerging: toward an ecology of complex
Systems in a complex future, Ecol. Model., 62, pp. 1-27 (1992)
B.C. Patten, Energy cycling in the ecosystem, Ecol. Model., 28, pp. 1-71 (1985)
T.F.H. Allen and T.W. Hoekstra, Toward a unified ecology, Columbia University Press, New York (1992)
T.P. Burns, B.C. Patten and M. Higashi, Hierarchical evolution in ecosystem networks: environs and selection.
In Higashi, M and T.P. Burns (Eds.), Theoretical Ecosystem Ecology: The Network Perspective. Cambridge
University Press, London, pp. 211-239.
2)
Principles Need to be Developed
(Proposed Program of Study at UGA will focus on this area)
Ecological Engineering Discipline
 Wetlands Science
 Emergy Analysis
B.S. Forest Resources with major in Forest and Ecological
Engineering
- Jointly offered through College of Forest Resources
and College of Engineering
 Properties and behavior
of material
 Engineering mechanics
 Statics
 Dynamics
 Fluid mechanics
 Heat transfer
 Buoyancy
 Pressure
 Motion
 Wetlands Science
 Ecosystem Restoration
Graduate Certificate
- Dept. of Environmental Engineering Sciences
follow the models of engineering physics, engineering
chemistry, engineering biology and engineering mathematics
to develop engineering ecology as a foundational science for
ecological engineering
Principles Relating To
Current Academic Programs
Engineering is a discipline of applied science and systems design
founded on fundamental principles of physics, chemistry, biology
and mathematics, with scales of application ranging from nano to
landscape. Established disciplines of civil, mechanical, electrical,
chemical and biological engineering, to name a few, have applied
the basic sciences in designing systems to improve the quality of
life for societies over many generations.
New engineering
disciplines emerge infrequently, and then only after the underlying
science has matured to a level for systems design and analysis to
be formally established. While degree programs remain a goal for
colleges and universities with ecological engineering aspirations,
the development and implementation of such programs have
proven difficult.
Current academic programs are primarily
classified as focus areas, emphasis areas or certificates, and are
offered through existing engineering programs of study. These
programs tend to be oriented toward aquatic systems with an
emphasis on application and practice.
1)
Physics
Biology
General
Systems
Science
Engineering
Systems
Ecology
Integrate fundamentals
of control theory with
graph theory structural
and functional
constructs of
ecosystem networks
Graph Theory
Open Systems
Modeling
Identify principles for
modeling and analyzing
ecosystems as
thermodynamically
open networks
Focus of
Systems and Engineering Ecology Program
at The University of Georgia
Interdisciplinary
experience in complex
problem-solving
Ecological
Energetics
Development
of
populations,
communities
and
environment as ecosystems. Major ecosystems of the
world will be analyzed with regard to their development
and function
Basic principles and universal laws from physics,
chemistry, biology and mathematics that have been
applied within the systems design framework of
engineering
Hypothesis
Reference
Ecosystems are networks of
environments
Patten (1978); Fath and Patten (1999)
Ecosystem function is holistic and
dominated by network indirect
effects
Ecosystems are structurally and
functionally complex
Higashi and Patten (1989)
Jørgensen, et al. (1992)
Principles of control, signal flow and state-space theories.
Principles and theory of the representation and
construction of ecosystems as networks and directed
graphs. Mathematical techniques for analyzing properties
of networks will be emphasized.
Principles and rules for identifying boundaries and
components of hierarchical, complex systems. Modeling
of the dynamics of systems thermodynamically open to
their environment. Static, steady-state, dynamic and
transient methods will be studied.
Ecosystems cycle
thermodynamically conservative
energy and material and nonconservative information along
network pathways
Patten (1985)
Ecosystems are self-organizing and
adaptive
Transport, flow and cycling of thermodynamically
conservative energy and material within an ecosystem
network
Network Analysis
Methods for analyzing complex properties of ecosystems
modeled as networks. Network environ analysis will
serve as the foundation
Capstone in
Modeling, Design
and Analysis
Students from disparate backgrounds use knowledge
from coursework to model, design and analyze an open
system having complex properties
Ecosystems are hierarchical with
emergent properties
Ecosystems are intractable and
irreducible
Burns, et al. (1990)
Allen and Hoekstra (1992)